Social Comparison Theory: How Comparison can lead to Success and Achievement

Early Theory:

Early sociologists Cooley (1912) & Mead (1934) were of the opinion that knowledge of self and others evolved in unison. Understanding one's self occurred by means of self evaluation and comparison with those around you. Social experience and interaction allowed for an understanding of who you are by inadvertently measuring your position within our human experience to that of others.

Social Comparison Theory:

Theoretical propositions were proposed by Festinger (1954) explaining the process by which individuals compare and therefore evaluate positions such as opinions and abilities with others.

1. A universal drive for self evaluation is evident in all people
2. If non-social means of evaluation are not readily available people will compare themselves to their peer group through interaction.
3. Increased levels of divergent abilities and opinions decrease one's urge to socially compare. If someone is vastly different to you in opinion or ability you will not compare yourself to them.
4. Festinger assumed (wrongly) that during social comparison of ability a unidirectional force toward those of greater ability was evident. This was explained as a drive to increase one’s own ability by means of upward social comparison. This hypothesis was not given for opinion based social comparison.
5. Opinion was something which could change dramatically by social comparison, but ability was subject to other non-social means. So, just because you compare yourself to Einstein continuously you may never be able to theorise or understand General Relativity. However, opinion was governed by a wholly social and comparative process.
6. Being incomparable to one’s group gives rise to hostility or derogation. So, holding a completely different opinion to one’s peer group is akin to social isolation or rejection from the peer group. In terms of ability, people tend to group and befriend those of similar ability as well as opinion.

Directional Social Comparison:

Wills (1981), posited that a downward comparison occurred in collaboration with Festinger’s upward comparison. People tend to compare themselves to those less fortunate to themselves in ability or achievement as a way to reduce negative personal affect or make themselves feel better.

• Upward Social Comparison: Individuals with high self-esteem use upward social comparison as a means of defining targets and increasing motivation. Consistent upward social comparisons have been shown to reduce self esteem in the long term however.
• Downward Social Comparison: Individuals with low self esteem consistently employ downward social comparison as a means of maintaining higher self esteem.
• Mood & Social Comparison: During periods of negative affect or mood, people tend to go through periods of downward social comparison as a means of remedying and alleviating negative spiral. This can be illustrated by studies which showed high levels of downward social comparison in chronic hospital patients as well as scapegoating, projection & romantic rejection.
  
  In essence a well balanced and considered approach to self evaluation by means of social comparison must be taken in order to improve success and achievement.
  

Academia:

Studies into the effectiveness of upward social comparison as a means for improving academic performance have shown a positive correlation. Students who compared themselves to higher achievers increased the likelihood of themselves achieving more. This occurred by:

• Giving students useful insights into the habits of and proficiencies of higher achievers to enhance performance.
• Increasing motivation to succeed.
• Setting higher personal standards

Positive effects of upward comparison were mediated by perceived similarities between students and those they chose to compare themselves to. For instance, the perceived ability of a person needed to be within the realms of future attainment and therefore an achievable comparison. Other similarities such as gender and social groups also helped define the impact of upward social comparison.
Negatives: Academic institutions bring groups of students who are generally of a similar ability group. Therefore inferences into higher ability upward social comparison cannot be evaluated.

Workplace:

Diener (1999) proposed that making a social comparison at all was a personality type. A personality matrix was formed in order to measure and test this idea. Social Comparison Orientation was the measure used in order to measure the propensity of individuals to measure themselves against other people. This measure has been used to measure the job performance of individuals high (compare frequently) and low (compare infrequently).
Job performance was highest among people with high levels of Social Comparison Orientation. These individuals were also more likely to find themselves in managerial positions, as opinion based social comparison lead to increased likelihood in organizational equilibrium with the workplace hierarchy.
Individuals high in Social Comparison Orientation reportedly used upward and downward social comparison in order to improve affect, mood, ability or performance.

Conclusion:

Social comparison can be used as a means of enhancing your achievement. This generally happens by means of upward social comparison. By comparing yourself to those who perform better than you, one can understand the techniques they use, increasing motivation and setting higher standards. However, downward comparison is useful in order to maintain the high self worth needed to maintain optimal output. Although social comparison can be used as a means of self improvement, it is limited to your level of self-esteem. If used successfully social comparison can increase your own personal standing and ability to perform better in your chosen field. Without a non-social, objective means of self-identification social comparison may be effective as a means of self identification and improvement. Perhaps the objective measure can only come from measuring your own success and its growth in a linear fashion. Measure your success and work-rate today and aim to achieve more tomorrow, everyday...